Online TV viewing has taken over TV watching habits, but online TV programming often remains unavailable in other Member States than the Member State of origin.The Commission aims at making it easier for broadcasters to clear the rights and facilitate licensing to the benefit of all Europeans.

The European Film Awards, recognising the best of European cinema, were handed out during a ceremony which took place Saturday night in Berlin. Among the films receiving honours, 7 were supported by the Creative Europe MEDIA programme of the EU.

To further strengthen the cultural and creative sector in Europe, the Cultural and Creative Sectors Guarantee Facility of the Creative Europe Programme received an additional EUR 60 million through the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). Following this top-up, the size of Guarantee Facility will increase from EUR 121 million to EUR 181 million, expecting to generate more than EUR 1 billion in loans for thousands of cultural and creative SMEs.

The 2017 European Film Awards will celebrate this Saturday in Berlin the greatest achievements in European cinema. Among the 27 feature films that received a nomination, 16 films have been supported through Creative Europe MEDIA programme of the EU.

At the Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition conference, Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, unveiled the first Digital Opportunity traineeships available for students and announced the winners of the European Digital Skills Awards 2017. She also spoke about the achievements of the Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition in its first year: over 300 members with nearly 90 organisations taking concrete action by involving millions of Europeans.

Geoblocking makes it hard for online shoppers to buy from a website based in another EU country. This is why the European Commission proposed in May 2016 as part of the Digital Single Market strategy new rules for ending discrimination on the basis of nationality or place of residence in e-commerce. The new rules – which will enter into force by the end of 2018 will ensure that consumers no longer face unjustified barriers such as being re-routed back to a country-specific website, or asked to pay with a debit or credit card from a certain country.